Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is pleased to announce the launch of a new online database, Census of Canada, 1881. Through this online database researchers can access digitized images of original census returns featuring the name, age, country or province of birth, nationality, religion, and occupation of Canada's residents at the time of the 1881 Census. This includes notable figures such as Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Timothy Eaton, and Alexander Graham Bell.

The 1881 Census marked the first regularly scheduled collection of national statistics in Canada. Information was collected for Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia and the North-West Territories (which at the time covered much of modern-day Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, northern Ontario, northern Quebec, Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut).

Library and Archives Canada gratefully acknowledges the contribution of Statistics Canada and FamilySearch, without which this project would not have been possible. The index to the 1881 Census was created by FamilySearch. Library and Archives Canada linked the FamilySearch index to the digital images of the original census. The index and linked images will also be searchable for free through FamilySearch.org.

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Has anyone been able to see the PDF/JPEG images? I was very excited about the images becoming available for the 1881 Canadian census but the links for both in the record I was looking for are broken (404).

It is unfortunate that all the members of a household cannot be viewed together.
This makes it difficult for those researching family history as the names of the siblings or spouse are the major clues.

How to do we make corrections to our Family names?
Both my Great Grandparents last names have been transcribed wrong. One was questionable, but the other was perfectly legible on the original census, but wrong on the Family search site.